


Bloom

by OneMoreNight1996



Series: axgweek 2020 [1]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Conversations, F/M, Healing, Love, the return of spring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:47:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25670806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneMoreNight1996/pseuds/OneMoreNight1996
Summary: Spring returns to Westeros after the wars are over.Written for axgweek day 1: The Return Of Spring
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Series: axgweek 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1861408
Comments: 11
Kudos: 103





	Bloom

The return of spring to Westeros was gradual, beginning first with sightly warmer temperatures but not enough to really notice as far North as Winterfell. Then it was the slowly melting ice and snow which turned the ground into a slushy, slippery, mess before finally revealing the mud underneath. And finally, what sealed it in her mind that winter was truly over was the sight of flowers blooming along the walls of the castle and the edges of the path leading to the gates.

For some reason, the flowers strongly reminded her of her father. Maybe because she used to pick bundles for him when she was much younger and she smiled to herself as she remembered the happy look on his face every time she'd breeze in with them clutched in her small hands and thank her. She felt the urge to pick some but ignored it and continued on to do what she'd set out for in the first place, which was to make the rounds of the castle and see if anyone needed anything. She was acting as Lady of the castle, which she found she didn't hate as much as she always assumed that she would, while Sansa was abed with an early spring chill.

Her last stop was the forge and even she could admit that she'd left it to last for a reason. It would give her more time to speak to Gendry without worrying about needing to be somewhere. It had surprised her when she had come back to Winterfell after going south to finish her list and found him still here, working in the forge like nothing had changed. When she'd finally gotten a moment alone with him and asked him about it, his answer had been simple.

_I told you, none of it would mean anything without you._

She'd tried to get him to change his mind, she didn't want to hold him back, but he'd steadfastly refused. And so, he was now the master smith in Winterfell and seemed content with his choice. They hadn't laid together again and neither of them had mentioned it, or the failed marriage proposal that followed, and they fell back into the easy friendship that they'd had for years. Slowly, the parts of herself that she'd thought were gone forever began coming back to her. She still wasn't the same girl she'd been before it all but she was closer to that person than she'd been in years and a lot of it, she knew, had to do with him.

She heard the steady ringing of a hammer in steel as she approached the forge and when she stepped inside she saw him working on a shortsword, the image as familiar as her own reflection, and she moved closer to examine the work. He glanced up at her but his movement didn't even pause as he brought the hammer down again. She took a seat on the bench closest to his work space, content to watch him work in silence, until he pushed the sword into the quenching bucket and sat it to the side.

"What brings you to the forge m'lady?" He asked. She rolled her eyes at the address but didn't comment further on it as she knew he found it amusing when she protested the title.

"I was running an inventory of items that might be needed around the castle to take to my sister to review." She told him. "Is there anything that you need?"

"Nothing that money could buy." He commented quietly, his eyes lingering on hers for a long moment before he dropped his gaze. Her heart started beating hard, she knew what he meant by that comment, that he needed her. The inflection in his words and the gaze he wore were familiar to her because, though they hadn't truly addressed what he had said out loud, she knew that he still wanted her. That he still loved her.

If she was being honest with herself, she loved him back, but she couldn't bring herself to tell him that. She was working on it but she still didn't think that she was truly worthy of him or the love he held for her. She was too damaged and broken. He deserved someone who could give him all of the things he wanted and she didn't think that was her.

She didn't want to talk about it, which was why they hadn't yet even all these moons later, but the look in his eyes when he raised them to meet hers once again told her that she wouldn't be able to avoid it anymore. He'd obviously grown tired of her dodging the subject and was ready to talk about it. She took a deep breath and let it out before she looked at him seriously.

"You want to talk about this now?" She questioned.

"I've waited long enough I think." He said, causing her to shuffled in her spot on the bench. "I gave you your space, I gave you time, but we can't avoid this forever."

"I know." She said, closing her eyes for a long moment before opening them once more to meet his eyes.

He moved closer until he was only a few steps away from her and she had to crane her neck back to look up at him. He reached out like he was going to touch her before he clenched his hand into a fist and dropped it back to his side, blowing out a long breath as he did, and she waited, frozen in place, for him to speak.

"Just tell me one thing." He said softly. "Am I wasting my time with this talk? I mean do you feel anything for me at all?"

It hurt her to think that he didn't know she cared for him but she knew it was her own fault for not being able to show it.

"I do." She said honestly. "I care about you Gendry."

"I care about you too but...." He hesitated. "Do you care about me because I'm your friend or is it more than that? Do you....?"

He trailed off like he wasn't sure where to take that question before he shook his head and sighed again, rubbing the back of his neck as an expression came across his face that she couldn't quiet read but thought might be desperation.

"It's more." She said, her voice practically a whisper, and for a moment she thought he hadn't heard her but his wide eyes ans surprised face told her that he definitely had.

"Then why...." He shook his head. "No, I know why you said no, I shouldn't have asked when I had been drinking and I definitely shouldn't have asked you to be a lady, I know that's not you. What I mean to ask is, what happens now? You say you care about me but since you came back we haven't talked about what happened that night, or the next one."

"Okay. We can talk." She said quietly, looking at him seriously. He studied her face for a moment before nodding and taking a deep breath.

"Nothing's changed, you should know that. I still love you." He said and she sighed.

"Do you?" She asked. "That night, when you said that to me, you were drunk. You've admitted that yourself and we'd lain together the night before, perhaps that's influenced you."

"It's not that, Arya." He said. "I loved you long before that night we spent together, I loved you when we were just children making our way through the war torn Riverlands together. It's why I didn't fight in when you asked me to be with you that night."

"Why?" She asked, her voice going soft. "Why do you love me? I'm terrible."

"No you're not." He said, shaking his head, as he moved toward her. His hands come up to cradle her face and he met her eyes, a serious expression on his face. "You're the most amazing person I know."

"I've done terrible things." She said, dropping her eyes so she didn't have to see the earnest look in his eyes. "I've hurt people. I've killed people."

"We've all done things we're not proud of but that doesn't make us bad people." He said, placing his hand under her chin to lift her eyes back to his. "But you are far from the worst person I've known, you're a hero. I know you hate that and don't think you are but everyone else does, including me. You saved us all. Everyone you killed was to protect yourself or your family. You're a good person."

"I'm not." She said, feeling like she wanted to cry.

"You are." He insisted. "And I'll tell you that every day of your life if I have to until you believe it yourself."

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment before continuing, answering the question she'd asked before.

"I love you because you never apologize for being exactly who you are and you never let anyone tell you who to be." He said gently. "I love you because you challenge people's opinions on what a woman should be able to do. I love you because you're you, authentically, completely, and you don't listen to what people have to say about it or try to assimilate to please them. I love you because you make me want to strive to be better every day of life. That's why I love you. I'd be happy to spend the rest of my life with you if you'd only agree."

"You may have turned down being Lord of Storm's End but you kept the name which means you're technically still a lord." She said cautiously. "I'm never going to be a very good lady. People will talk."

"Let them." He shrugged. "I don't need a lady, I need _you_. I need _Arya_ , not Lady Arya Stark."

"Are you sure you'll be happy with that?" She asked quietly. "I'm a lot to deal with."

"I can handle it." He said, giving her a small smile.

"You truly love me?" She asked.

"With all my heart." He said the words with no hesitation and she read the truth of it on his face.

They stared at each other, suspended in time for a long moment, before she blew out a sharp breath and reached out to drag him closer to her. He came willingly, his hands landing on either side of her hips, and their lips met for the first time in months. It felt a little like coming home, it felt right. His hands quickly left her hips to slide into her hair as he deepened the kiss and she clutched at the front of his tunic, dragging him impossibly closer, as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

Heat zipped up her spine and she made a soft sound of pleasure as his lips left hers to trail along her neck. His teeth grazed her skin making her skin break out in goosebumps as she shivered and the grip of her legs around his waist tightened.

"Wait." She breathed out and he stopped immediately, looking up to meet her eyes with obvious concern.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

"No." She said, placing her hands on his face. "It's just, we're kind of out in the open. Anyone could walk by, which would definitely start talk that we definitely don't want to have to deal with."

"Right." He nodded, glancing around the forge, and she thought for a moment that he was going to stop what they were doing but instead he slid his arms around her and hauled her up off the bench, which made her grip on him tighten, before he walked to the back of the forge where a small room with a bed was located. He dropped her to the bed and quickly followed until he was hovering above her. "Tell me you want this. If you don't, we'll stop now."

"I want this." She said. "I want _you_."

He studied her face before seeming to decide that she was telling the truth as he leaned down to kiss her once more. Soon the room was filled with soft sounds of lovemaking and anyone walking by would know what was happening but they were too lost in one another to care.

* * *

The next day, she couldn't keep the smile off her face and everyone seemed to notice her cheery disposition on account of her usually being rather distant. Her mood seemed to affect the whole castle as everyone seemed to be in good spirits and even the flowers blooming seemed brighter than they had the day before. She wondered for a moment if the feeling in her heart had anything to do with it, perhaps she was seeing things differently now because she was in love. She could admit to herself that that was the feeling inside of her.

She found herself in the Godswood, sitting in front of the tree that she'd found her father in front of many times in her youth, and somehow she knew that he'd approve of Gendry. The sad face that was carved into the tree used to scare her but now it was a comfort and she felt closer to the gods than she had in years so she allowed herself a moment of silence to pray, something she hadn't done in a long time. The wind blew lightly through her hair as she prayed and when she was finished with her prayer, she took note of the flowers blooming around her and an idea popped into her head.

She stood from her spot and began picking the colorful flowers that grew in the Godswood until she had a handful of beautiful blossoms. When she stepped out of the Godswood, she went straight towards the forge, no longer caring if someone saw her with the flowers, and when she stepped inside she was greeted with the familiar heat of the forge fire and a wide smile from Gendry.

She stepped towards him and held the flowers out in front of her, her cheeks heating lightly as a look of surprise came over his face, and he stepped toward her. He took the flowers delicately as if they were the most precious thing he'd ever received as his eyes met hers.

"Any particular reason for these?" He asked and she shrugged lightly.

"I noticed they were blooming and thought you might like them." She said.

"They're lovely." He said, moving to put them in an empty container before pouring a bit of water in for them. "I guess spring has truly come then."

She didn't want to make small talk. She needed him to know.

"I love you too." She blurted. "I thought you should know."

" _Arya_..." He breathed her name out, his tone soft and amazed, before he crossed the space between them in two steps and swept her into his arms.

She giggled softly as he spun her around before kissing her thoroughly, not caring that they were in the full view of the courtyard and anyone who happened to be passing, and she felt that last bit of ice in her heart melt away. Spring had come again for Westeros and for her. She hoped to always feel this way, she never wanted to go back to that cold person that she had been for so long, and she knew that Gendry would make that a reality. She could never go back to the ice when he'd shown her how beautiful the sunlight could be.


End file.
